Washing machine



Feb. 28, 1.928.

o f7 f5- J J7 J@ 0 IX' H. E. MERSELES WASHING MAQHINE Filed April *7.1921 lL vwewtoz E. WAX/Mg w.. @yA/f7) @11 h2 @Hom/ve Patented eb. 28,

UNITED STATES PATENT oFFlcE.

HERBERT E. MERSELES, OF NEW ROCHELLE, NEW YORK, .ASSIGNOR T0 HOBART MAN-UFACTURING COMPANY, OF TROY, OHIO, .A CORPORATION OF OHIO. 1

WASHING MACHINE.

Application led 4April. 7, 1921. Serial No. 459,299.

This invention relates to washing machines and has for an object to makethe operation of a machine of this class automatic so that it may berapidly, eiciently and economically -used by unskilled attendants. r

In carrying out the invention the washing machine is provided with aninterrupted conveyer which is arranged to move the articles to be washedinto washing position, and, after permitting them to remain vthere foran indefinite period, to move them forward through, and out of, themachine.

While the invention is susceptible to numerous other applications, it isof particular advantage when applied to the type of dish washing machinein which thearticles are cleansed by the impact of a washing liquidwhich is used over and over again and thereafter rinsedby a clean liquidwhich is used only once. When applied to a washing machine of thischaracter the invention comprises a conveyer which moves the carriers inwhich the dishes, or other articles, are placed to the point at whichthe. Washing operation takes' place and permits them to remain there foran indefinite period. When the c( rrier is forced out of the washingposition y the action of the conveyer upon a carrierl subsequentlyplaced in the machine the first carrier is picked up by the conveyer,carried through the position where the rinsing takes place and out ofthemachine. The supplyk of thernsing liquid is automaticalcontrolled bygthe position of the carrier so l that it is turned on only while acarrier isl passing through the position where the rinse is applied tothe articles in it.

Before pointing out other objects and advantages of the ih detail thedish washing machine embodying the invention which is illustrated in theaocompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a sectional elevation of theIna-- chine taken upon the lineY 1 1 of Fig. 2 showing two dish carriersin the machine, one of which is shown in section; Fig. 2 is a vplan viewof the machine illustrated upon the line 2-2 of Fig. 1; and` Fig. 3 is atransverse section upon the line 3 3 of Fig. 1 showing one of the dishcarriers and the rails and screw of the conyveyer.

vention, 1 will describe in.

The frame of the machine illustrated coml vhood 17 are suspended threecurtains 19 which form in the hood the washing chamber A and the rinsingchamber B.

While the particular form oi' apparatus whichlmay be used to eect thewashing in the chamber A is immaterial so far as the present inventionis concerned, a convenient form of washing apparatus is illustrated inthe drawing. It consists of an upper revolvmg spray arm 25 and a lowerrevolving spray arm 26. Each ofthe spray arms 25, 26 is provided with.nozzles 27 which are inclined in such a way the liquid forced `outthrough them causes the spra arms to rotate. The washing liquid w ichlls the tank 16 to the level indicated in Fig. 1 is forced into therevolvspray arms 25, 26 throughthe pipes 28,

29 by a rotary pump 30 driven bya motor 31. lt is apparent that theliquid which is emitted b the nozzles 27 of the spray arms 25, 26 Wiltall into the tank' 16 whence it will be sucked up by the intake pipe 32of the pump 30 and forced again through the spray arms. f

'In the rinsing chamber B are a set of upper spray nozzles 35 and a setof lower spray nozzles 36 which are supplied with clean hot waterthrough the pipe 37. rEhe admission of water to the sprays from the pipe37 is controlled by a whistle valve 38, the operation of 4which ishereinafter described.

that the reaction of The means for supporting'the carriers in In theform shown, the portion 43 et the rails projecting at the discharge endof the machine is at a slightly higher level than the rest of the railsand connected therewith by an inclined portion 44. y

Aninterrupted conveyer is provided for moving the carriers for articlesto be washed along the rails 40, 41. Thi's conveyer comprises a shaftextending the entire length of the tank 16 just below the level of therails 40, 41 and journalled in the ends yof thetank at 46, 47 and upon across-bar 48 at the middle of the tank. The shaft 45 is continuouslyrtated by the motor 31 which drives the pump 30 by a friction driveconf, nection which, in the form shown, consists of a belt 49 passingover a pulley upon the shaft 45 and a'pulley upon the motorshaft. A wormor screw 50 is formed upon the portion of the shaft 45 which lies in thewashing chamber A near the intake end of that chamber. A similar Worm orscrew 51 is formed on the portion of the shaft which extends through therinsing chamber B.

The carriers 55 for the dishes orother articles to be .washed mayconveniently be made in the form of shallow receptacles comprisingwooden frames 56 provided with transverse rods 57 lfor the support ofthe articles placed in them. The width of the carriers 55 isl such thatthey may be seated across the rails 40, 41 as shown in Fig. 3. Justsuliicient clearance is allowed between the sides of the carriers vandthe vertical portions of the rails to permit the carriers to slide uponthe rails. Each carrier is provided with a rack 58 which extendslongitudinally of the carrier along the middle of its'A bottom surface.Theteeth of the racks 58 are spaced and inclined so as to engage thethreads of the worms 50, 51. The length of each rack 58 is less than thedistance bej tween the worm 50 and the worm 51.

means for the valve 38 are so located as to e actuated by the carrierswhen passing through the rinsing chamber. In the form illustrated in thedrawings, such Controlling controlling means comprise a controllingplunger 60 extending from the whistle valve 38 and acam 61 at the outerend of the plunger. When the valve is closed this cam projects through acut 62 in the vertical portion of the rail 41 into lthe positionindicated in Fig. 2. The plunger is normally held in this position byaspring not shown in the drawmgs.

The operation ofthe machine described is as follows :The tank 16 isfilled with soapy Vwater to the level indicated in Fig. 1, and the pipe37 is connected with la source of clean hot water. The motor 31 is 'Athen placed in operation. The motor drives the pump 30 whichcontinuously draws the soapy water in the tank up through the pipe 32and rojects it through the spray arms 25, 26. Ii`he motor also causesthe shaft 45 to rotate arms and the articles in it are subjected to` theimpact of the water which is constantly forced through the nozzles ofthespray arms. Meanwhile another carrier is being filled with articles bythe attendant, and as soon as the second carrier has been filled it isplaced upon the portioxr 63 of the rails and pushed in so that its rackis engaged by the worm 50 and carried forward into the machine by theworm. Its front end engages the rear end of the first carrier and pushesthat carrier forward until the front end of the rack of the firstcarrier is engaged by the worm 51. The first carrier is then carriedforward'by the worm 51, While the second carrier is moved forward by theworm until it reaches the washing* position where it remains until athird carrier has been filled' and inserted in the machine. Meanwhilethe first carrier is carried through the rinsing chamber B by the worm51. In this move? ment, the side of the carrier is brought intoengagement with ythe cam 61 of the plunger '60 and forces the plungerinwardly, openmg the valve 38 so that hot water enters through the pipe37 and is projected upon the articles in the-carrier through the sprays35, 36. TheI rinse continues until the 'rear end of the carrier haspassed by the cam 61 when the plunger 6() reassumes the position shownin Fig. 2 and automatically cuts off the rinsing water. The firstcarrier is continuously carriedfforward by the worm 5l and is moved upthe incline 44 to the discharge portion 43 o the rails 40, 41. When itreaches this position its rack 58 is disengaged from the worm 51 and thecarrier remalns stationary upon the portion 43 of the rails. From thisposition it is removed and after it has been` in washing position duringthe entire timel which must necessarily be consumed in filling the nextcarrier withy soiled dishes or other articles. They rinsing is securedwith aes-:deas

chine without danger ofv breakage because of the steady movement givento the carriers by the wormconveyer. If because of an accldent anycarrier becomes ]ammed1n the rails, the friction drive of the conveyerslips so that no injury tothe machine or the articlesresults. i Y

The use of the machine described is not limited to the washing of dishesor other food receptacles. It may be used for washing articles of anysort, and the liquids used in the machine maybe varied to suit theparticular article operated upon. Thus, the machine may,for example, beused for cleaning metal parts with dilute acid, or other cleaning agent.

Many modifications may be made in the specic washing machine describedwithouty departing from the scope of the invention. It is evident thatshould it be desired to provide for a plurality of washings or rinsingsof the articles carried through the machine, or to subject the'articlesto an additional operation the conveyer may be ex-I tended `so as tomove the carriers into any desired number of diderent operativepositions and may be interrupted so as to permit each carrier to remainfor an `indefinite period in each ofthe operative positions.

' Furthermore, the use of the invention is by no means confined to theparticular type of washing machine in connection with which it has beenillustrated and described, norto `the particular form of conveyer shownin the drawings. It is not essential that the operative orfengagingportions of the conveyer be mounted upon the same shaft nor that they bedriven by the same means, and thel term interrupted conveyer used in theclaims which follow should be understood not to import either of theselimitations.y kWhile, for reasons above pointed out, the use of a screwconveyer has been found to possess peculiar advantages, the inventionmay be carried out by the use of other types of continuously movingconveyer/s. While the entire apparatus described forms a unitaryautomatic washing machine, it is apparent that various features ofthe-invention may advantageously .be used, independently of the others.

What is claimed is:

ing and rinsing apparatus, the com .ination of rails extending throughthe machine, carriers for the articles to be washed adapted to slideupon said rails, and an interrupted `screw conveyer extending throughthe machine in the same direction .as the rails and having a threadedportion adapted to engage successive carriers and move them into washingposition and release them there and a spaced threaded portion adapted toengage each carrier when pushed out of washing position by the-succeeding carrier and to move it to rinsing position.

2., ln a washing machine having washing and rinsing apparatus, thecombination of a valve controlling th`e admission of water to therinsing apparatus, rails extending through the machine, carriers for thearticles to be washed adapted to slide upon said rails, an interruptedscrew conveyer extending through the machine in the same direction asthe rails and having a threaded portion adapted to engage successivecarriers and move them into washing position and release them there anda. spaced threaded portion adapted to engage each carrier when pushedout of Washing position by the succeeding carrier and to move it torinsing position, and controlling means for said valve normallyprojecting between the portion of said rails in the rinsing `position ofthe machine and adapted to be actuated by contact with each carrier whenmoved into rinsing position to open said valve.

3. In a washing machine, the combination with washing apparatus, of aplurality of` @arriere for the articles to be washed, each provided witha longitudinal rack, and an interrupted continuously moving screwconveyer having a threaded portion extending to one side of the washingapparatus and a spaced threaded portion extending from the support thecarriers and guide them to the washing apparatus, a screw'conveyerlocated between said rails with its axis parallel to the rails, and alongitudinal rack projecting from the bottom of each receptacle,extending parallel to the sides of the receptacle, and having teethadapted to engage the screw conve er.

5. In com ination with a machine adapted to operate upon obiects placedin a certain position in it, an interrupted worm con-' veyer havlng athreaded portion arranged to 'engage successive objects, carry them intooperative position and release them there,

and a spaced threaded portion adapted to engage each object when pushedout of operative position by the succeeding object and move it forward.

6. In a machine, the combination of a lurality of carriers each providedwith a ongitudinal rack, and a screw conveyer having threaded `portionseach adapted to enage theraeks of the carriers and separated y lz;distance greater than the length of the rac s.

7. In a machine, a combination of a pluf Imy hand.

ralit of carriers each provided with a 1ongitu inal toothed rack, and acontinuously' moving interrupted conveyer having aV plurality ofportions each adapted to engage the teeth of the racksof said carriersand move the carriers forward, successive portions of said conveyerbeing separated by a distance greater than the length of the racks.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set HERBERT E. MERSELES.

